Sister-in-law tells how Luke Mitchell saved her before he was stabbed

Adam Cooper

A woman has recalled in court how she saw two men rush to fatally stab her brother-in-law soon after he intervened in a confrontation between her and the pair.

Serafina Mitchell told Melbourne Magistrates Court her brother-in-law,Luke, ran to her and exchanged punches with two men who had approached her in the early hours of May 24, 2009, after she had called out to them to stop attacking another man who was on the ground.

After the brief fight, the court heard, Ms Mitchell, her brother-in-law and three of her friends were at a 7-Eleven store in Sydney Road, Brunswick, when they saw the two men approaching, one armed with a knife.

"When I yelled out to Luke that they've got knives, he ran towards the (first man)," Ms Mitchell said.

"He tried to stab Luke, was stabbing Luke. Luke was trying to protect himself as well but (the first man) got him. The knife connected."

Thai nationals Sarud Seehaverachart, 31, and Thatiya Terdputham, 39, have both been charged with the murder of Mr Mitchell, 29, who died in hospital. Another man, also believed to be a Thai national, remains at large.

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The opening day of a committal hearing for Mr Seehaverachart and Mr Terdputham heard evidence from a group of friends who were also outside the convenience store when they witnessed three men punch and kick Mr Mitchell and then stab him while he lay on the ground.

The three witnesses separately told the court they saw a black Mercedes-Benz abruptly stop in the car park, before three men got out of the car and ran to attack Mr Mitchell.

The friends reversed their cars out of the car park in panic once the attack began, the court heard.

Anthony Orlando, a passenger in one of the cars, said he saw clearly saw Mr Mitchell being stabbed while he was on the ground.

"I am not sure which one did it but I saw it happen," he said.

Patrick Tawaf, who was driving the car with Mr Orlando inside, said he turned his head towards the store just as one of the men pulled a knife from Mr Mitchell's body.

Mr Tawaf said he saw the man drop the knife and heard it "clang" on the concrete. Before the stabbing he had seen three men kick Mr Mitchell while he was on the ground.

Another witness, John Konstantinakos, said he was in the car next to Mr Tawaf's car and saw one of the attackers intercept Mr Mitchell and knock him to the ground.

"One of them put his hand on the roof of my car and jumped up to kick (Mr Mitchell) in the face," Mr Konstantinakos said.

The court was told one of the men who attacked Mr Mitchell had a goatee beard and his hair pulled back in a ponytail.

However the witnesses conceded they could not be sure of the men's descriptions given the incident happened more than five years ago and the attack outside the 7-Eleven was so quick. Mr Seehaverachart and Mr Terdputham were both extradited from Thailand after they left Australia soon after Mr Mitchell was attacked.